Communists flay CBI on Tapasi Malik murder probe

"The charred body of Tapasi Mallik, an 18-year-girl from Singur who was on the forefront of the anti land acquisition movement, was found inside the fenced-off area of Tata Motors' small car factory site. "

Kolkata, July 13 - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) once again targeted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its 'highhandedness' in the probe into the murder of Singur girl Tapasi Malik, terming the federal agency anti-communist and accusing it of 'crossing all limits to pursue a political agenda'.

While CPI-M patriarch Jyoti Basu Friday reiterated that the CBI and even Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) were traditionally anti-left, Left Front chairman Biman Bose was more direct when he said: 'They are crossing all limits in the Singur episode.'

Basu said: 'When the chief minister has ordered a CBI probe already we cannot help but wait for the court to decide it (Tapasi case) but the CBI and RAW were always against us.'

The CPI-M has been left with egg on the face over the alleged rape and murder of Tapasi Malik after the CBI arrested its party associate Debu Malik as a prime accused and then apprehended Singur Zonal Committee secretary Surhid Dutta, triggering protests against the CBI by the communists.

Biman Bose said: 'The job of the CBI is to investigate. Why are they questioning photographers and journalists? Did they do so after the 1984 Sikh riots in Delhi or after the Babri mosque demolition? In those cases too the media was witness to many things?

'I think the CBI is crossing all limits in Singur and their motive is political.'

Jyoti Basu earlier said: 'When I was the chief minister I saw that the CBI and RAW were never in favour of us.

'Hardly two-three percent of the total cases the CBI had taken up have been solved so far,' he said, taking a dig at the agency.

The charred body of Tapasi Mallik, an 18-year-girl from Singur who was on the forefront of the anti land acquisition movement, was found inside the fenced-off area of Tata Motors' small car factory site.

Around 997 acres in Singur have been chosen by Tata Motors for its small car project. The issue has triggered a violent face-off between the government and farmers led by civil society groups and parties like the Trinamool Congress.

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